Open AccessCannabidiol Use as Treatment for Refractory Epilepsies
Author(s) -
Catarina Secundino Tavares de Araújo,
Maria Clara Coppieters Gusmão,
Rodrigo Mesquita Costa Braga
Publication year - 2021
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Conference proceedings
DOI - 10.5327/1516-3180.568
Subject(s) - cannabidiol , medicine , epilepsy , refractory (planetary science) , adverse effect , clinical trial , randomized controlled trial , quality of life (healthcare) , pediatrics , psychiatry , cannabis , physics , nursing , astrobiology
Refractory epilepsies have a great impact in patients’ quality of life. Thus, studies with alternative drugs are extremely important to seek for effective treatments to control the condition, and cannabidiol (CBD) has shown promising results. Objectives: To analyze CBD’s efficacy as an alternative treatment of patients with refractory epilepsy. Design and setting: this study is a literature review from Universidade Federal da Bahia. Methods: We searched the following formula on PubMed: [cannabidiol] AND [epilepsy]. The inclusion criteria were clinical trials published from 2016-2021. Results: 25 articles were found, from which 18 were selected and, from those, 1092 patients were analyzed. All studies pointed to a reduction in frequency and/or intensity of epileptic crisis in adults and children with refractory epilepsy using CBD, independently of the etiology. In Laux’s study, they noted reductions of 50% and 44% in motor and total seizures (respectively). Moreover, Birnbaum’s study showed that using CBD with a meal may cause variability of exposure of patients to the drug. Adverse effects were dose dependent, mainly diarrhea, sleepiness and less appetite. The interaction between CBD and anticonvulsants was not shown to have a prejudicial or neutralizing effect. Conclusion: CBD was shown to be capable of attenuating attacks in patients with refractory epilepsy. However, more randomized clinical trials are needed to analyze the efficacy and the safety of these medications in the short and long term.